Last week I was having an anxious week. I wasn't having any full-blown panic attacks, but my generalized anxiety was pretty strong. I felt tense, my appetite was poor, I had a sense of unease that I couldn't seem to escape. To top it off, my acid reflux was really terrible. I decided to see if I could find some yoga poses on YouTube that would help with acid reflux and digestion. Well, sure enough I found a great one. (If you happen to have acid reflux, also known as GERD, check out this link. Yoga for Heartburn with Adriene) And, like most yoga practices, this one began with taking deep breaths. As I began deep breathing, I noticed that I was so anxious I wasn't taking normal breaths. I was taking small, shallow breaths, and my body was a mass of tense muscles. I was holding my stomach, hips, and shoulders so tightly that they hurt. Of course, as I did the yoga poses, I began to breathe, relax, and lose the tension in my body, as well as helping the acid reflux.
The next day, I woke up with morning anxiety. As I did a few yoga poses to relieve the anxiety, I wondered why I never think to check on my breathing unless I'm having a panic attack. During yoga, when I breathe fully and relax my tight muscles, my anxiety lessens. Why not try to put this into practice throughout the day? Now, granted, I can't stop and do a yoga pose in every situation, unless I want to get some weird looks. But I can take full breaths and relax my muscles.
As the day went by, every time I started feeling the twinge that means anxiety is building, I reminded myself to breathe all the way down into my belly. I checked in with my body and deliberately relaxed my stomach, hips, and shoulders. I made myself relax into the anxiety instead of fighting it. The results were good. Instead of building up, the anxiety would start melting.
I've continued to practice this with good results. I've also starting checking with myself even when I'm not feeling anxious to see how I'm breathing. And, what I've learned is this- Most of the time, I take short, shallow breaths and my stomach, hips, and shoulders are sucked in tight. They actually hurt. But, stopping frequently to breathe fully and relax my tense muscles is helping reduce my anxiety. My appetite has improved, my sense of unease is less. I've even felt more energetic.
I think I'll continue to breathe. Breathe deeply and fully. I'll drop my shoulders, relax my stomach and hips. And, just breathe.
I wrote a comment and tried to post it and had to create a Google account and then it ate my comment. This almost gave me an anger attack, which I believe might be kin to a panic attack. I have also had panic attacks in my past and they are no fun at all. Like you, I instantly thought I was having a heart attack and that thought just made the panic attack worse. I found myself at the ER on more than one occasion. I guess I learned to deal with panic attacks through trial and error more so than from books or on-line help. The human mind is a powerful thing and it can and will play nasty tricks on the very body that it lives in. I guess the trick is to learn how to out-trick the trickster. My favorite trick also involves breathing. I close my eyes and take slow deep breaths while trying to picture myself somewhere pleasant, like sitting in the sun fishing. It probably helps that when I picture this, the fish are always biting. This trick usually makes the attack disappear. This trick also works when I am having my blood pressure checked. I think the key to the success of this little trick is that you trick the trickster into thinking about something else other than playing tricks on you. If you haven't already tried this,maybe you should try this trick. I think you should picture yourself sitting in the sun, in a field of tulips, while your friend holds your hand as she gives you a manicure. I hope that you learn to out-trick the trickster. The downside to that would be that you might not write this blog anymore. You could always come up with a new title. You keep writing and I'll keep reading. Good luck to you from a friend.
ReplyDeleteI don't get anger attacks :) but I surely understand panic attacks! I'm so glad you've learned to manage your panic attacks successfully and hope one day I'll overcome mine. Your "trick" is a great technique for reducing panic and anxiety. I'll try it next time I feel panicky or have my blood pressure taken. (That makes me nervous, too, so it's always a little higher than normal.) I like the visualization of the sun, tulips, and a manicure. Thanks for sharing your trick, and I appreciate you reading my blog! I hope you enjoy it as well as finding some useful ideas.
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